Bowling pin conveying and orienting mechanism



Jan. 27, 1953 A. M. SIMPSON BOWLING PIN CONVEYING AND ORIENTING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 7, 1947' thou" 712,

Jan. 27, 1953 A. M. SIMPSON BOWLING PIN CONVEYING AND ORIENTING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 7, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Sheets-Sheec 5 A. M. SIMPSON BOWLING PIN CONVEYING AND ORIENTING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 7, 1947 Jan. 27, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ohw mum NQH n RN & Q EH 90H Jan. 27, 1953 A. M. SIMPSON BOWLING PIN CONVEYING AND ORIENTING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 7. 1947 INVEIYTOR. affiafil. gun 001m,

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Patented Jan. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Arthur Simpson, Lexington, Ky., assignor to The Kawneer Company, Niles, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application February 7, 1947, Serial No. 727,209

3 Glaims. 1 o,

The present invention relates to mechanism for bowling alleys and especially to such mechanism for use in standard or commercial forms of bowli'ng alleys by which the manual clearing setting and resetting of the pins and all manual operations now required in connection therewith are dispensed with and the various operations are automatically accomplished.

The present invention is a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 663,018, filed April 13, 1946, new Patent No; 2,531,167; issued November :21, 1950-.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide improvements in the means and mechanism for automatically orienting the pins and delivering them to the pin setter.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity, efiiciency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and are inherently possessed thereby.

The invention further resides in the construe-- tion, combination and arrangement of parts i1 lustrated in the accompanying drawings; and while there is shown therein a preferred ein= bodinient, it is to beunder'stood that the is susceptible of modification and change,- and comprehends other details, arrangements of parts, features and constructions without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings: V v

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view in side elevation of the complete assembly; a Y J Fig. 2 is a plan View of the re r endof a bowling alley and showing the novel arrangementof the transverse belts in the pit for automatically separating and delivering the thrown ball and fallen pins collected in the pit after the ball has been delivered; 7 I I v Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the novel arrangement of pit belts, the view being taken in a plane represented by the line 3-"3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on line 4 5 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arr Fig. 5- is a front el'evatio'nal view showing the relative levels of the three pit belts; v V

Fig. 6 is a top plan view showing the details of the mechanism of conveyor 13'; a

Fig. '7 is a sectional View taken online 1"-'! of Fig. 6 showing the detail construction or the rotating disk I20;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a top plan View of a chain suitable for use in the rear pin conveyor; and

Fig. 10 is a side View bf that chain.

Referring more particularly to the novel em bodiment shown in the drawings, the present in"- vention relates to mechanism disposed adjacent the pit end of a bowling alley for automatically accomplishing the operations previously accorn plished by a pin boy in the pit, and especially to mechanism disposed in the pit and associated therewith for collecting the fallen pins and thrown ball, separating the ball from the pins, and separately delivering the ball to the front of the alley and the pins to an automatically operated setting mechanism for setting the pins in a manner similar to that manually performed by I the pin boy.

As shown in Figs; 1 and 2, the rear end I of the bowling alley 2 is provided with lecating spots 3 upon which the pins 4 are placed. At the rear of the alley is provided the pit 5 for receiving the fallen pins and ball and suitably mounted toward the rear of the pit is a cushion 6 suspended above the bottom of the pit. The pins are separated from the ball by a mechanism illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 and hereinafter deso'ribed in detail. The separated pins are then delivered through a suitable arrangement of conveyors to a pin hoist I having a plurality of spaced depending hooks 8 which carry the pins upwardly and then over the rear end of the alley and automatically drop these pins into spaced chutes 9 upon the actuation of suitable electrically and automatically controlled tripping mechanism, the chutes leading to a pin setter In which is vertically movable into and out of pin setting position. 7 Although one chute is illustratedin Fig. 1 it will be understoodthat the pin setter includes ten setting cups; each of which is located at the lower end of its re- 'spo'ctive chute,- so that there are ten chutes in all. Such chutes are per se well known to those skilled in this art so that further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

The ball H is delivered to the side of the pit opposite to that of the pins where it is received upon a' ball hoist l2 which elevates the ball and discharges it upon an inclined support 13 connecting with a transverse run'way or ball return M leading to a return runway ['5 extending longitudinally of the alley whereby the ball is re turned to the front ofthe alley to the bowler. Suitably mounted at the rear of the alley is a pin sweep [6 which sweeps the alley clear of pins.

In describing the arrangement of the belts or other conveying mechanism, the terms right" and left are used when looking toward the 3 rear of the alley from the position of the bowler at the front.

In Figs. 2 and 3 is shown the novel arrangement of pit conveyors comprising a transverse conveyor belt I! moving in the direction of the arrow A for delivering the pins to the pin conveyor I8 disposed longitudinally of the alley and along one side of the pit 5. Conveyor belt I! is provided with projections or knobs I'IA which permit the ball to roll over them but which assist in catching the pins and prevent slippage. Associated with the pit conveyor H are transverse pit conveyors I9 and 20 and an intermediate pit conveyor 2I, with the pit conveyors I9 and 20 moving in the directions of the arrows B and C, respectively, while the longitudinally extending intermediate pit conveyor 2| moves in the direction of the arrow D. To assure separation of the ball from the pins in the pit and the delivery therefrom of the ball and pins to their proper position for discharge or removal from the pit, the belts are inclined in such manner that the transverse pit conveyor I! which extends completely across the pit is pitched forwardly at the left side thereof and .rearwardly at the right side thereof so that although this conveyor is moving in the direction of the arrow A to carry the pins in that direction, the ball will automatically roll toward the rear and to the right of this conveyor (Fig. 3) and pass thereat onto the pit conveyor I9. As clearly shown in Fig. l, the ball is restrained from forward movement by the rear portion of the alley I. As shown in Fig. 3, the front end of roller 24 is at a greater height than the front end of roller 25, which in turn is at a greater height than the front end of roller 23. Therefore the ball rolls to the right even when it falls on the forwardly pitched portion of conveyor H.

The pit conveyor belt I9 is pitched downwardly away from its direction of travel with its rear right end corner disposed at a lower elevation than the forward right end corner so that the .ball rolls thereto for delivery to the ball hoist I2. The pit conveyor belt 20 is pitched downwardly toward the intermediate conveyor 2| and forwardly toward the pit conveyor I! for conveying the pins collected thereon toward either the conveyor 2| or the conveyor ll. Likewise, any pins collected on the pit conveyor I9 will be directed inwardly toward the conveyor 2| and conveyor H. To maintain the pitch of these belts, the upper surface of each belt preferably passes over a plate having the desired pitch and over a pair of rollers. Any suitable drive mechanism may be provided for rotating these rollers and belts. For example, a single drive roller 23 may be provided for rotating the belts I1 and I9, while the other roller 24 for the belt I1 and the roller 25 for the belt I9 are preferably but idlers and free to rotate with the belts. Similarly, conveyor belt 20 passes around rollers 26 and 21 and the transverse belt 2| is carried around a pair of rollers 28 and 29, one of each pair being driven and the other of each pair being an idler.

As shown in Fig. 3, roller 24 inclines or slopes toward the front. Roller 21 also inclines or slopes toward the front. On the other hand, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, roller 23 inclines toward the rear. The purpose of this construction is to cause the ball to roll rearwardly and to the right. The pins are always fed by the pit conveyor IT to the front portion of the pin conveyor I8. The junction of conveyor I1 and conveyor I8 is a possible zone of clogging of pins. To prevent clogging, conveyor 20 is pitched forwardly whereby it places on conveyors IT or 2| any pins that are not taken up by conveyor I8. Since conveyor 2|! is located rearwardly of the junction of conveyors I8 and I! it insures against perpetuation of a clogged condition. Of course, pins taken up in regular order by conveyor I8 are not returned to conveyor 20.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation showing the novel arrangement of the four pit belts of Fig. 2. This view shows the relative levels of these belts, with the top surface of belt 2| at a slightly lower level than the adjacent ends of belts I9 and 20. Pins which are knocked or swept into the pit may fall on any or all of the four pit belts. Those which fall onto belt I! are carried to the left toward pin conveyor I8. If this conveyor does not immediately accept a pin because of other interfering pins or because the pin is not in the proper longitudinal position to be accommodated by this conveyor I8, the pin will roll back toward the right onto belt H to be carried to the left again or will roll onto belt 2|] by which it will be carried to the right onto longitudinal belt 2| which moves toward belt I'I. Since belt 2| is at a slightly lower level than the adjacent ends of belts I9 and 20 any pins which may fall on belts I9 and 20 will not roll from one to the other of these belts but will be positively carried forward by belt 2|. To insure against the pins slipping the surface of belt 2| is provided with transverse, evenly spaced ridges or strips of rubber, leather or other suitable material.

As shown in Fig. 2, the pins are delivered by the collecting conveyor I8 to a conveyor 13, the function of which is to deposit the pins with their small ends upward into a delivery cup I4, after transporting them rearwardly and transversely of the alley. As clearly shown in Figs. 6, '7, 8, 9 and 10 this conveyor comprises a belt I38 for transporting the pins, a disc member I20 for aiding in transporting the pins around the rear left corner of the pit, and appropriate instrumentalities for guiding and driving the belt. Disk member I20 (Figs. 6 and '7) is generally conical in shape and comprises a top member 233, made of some material that frictionally engages the pins, and a sprocket I3 I, the sprocket being rigidly secured to member 238 by a tubular member 233. The subassembly comprising elements I3I, 236, 233 is mounted for rotation on a shaft I33 by bearings 23| and 232. Also mounted on shaft I33 is a sprocket I32, the sprocket being mounted for rotation by bearings 234, 235. The shaft is rigidly secured to a suitable foundation (not shown) and appropriate means is provided to maintain the axial positions of the sprockets relative to the shaft.

Referring now to Fig. 6 the belt I39 is driven by sprocket ISI. This belt drives sprocket |3I in a clockwise direction and sprocket I32 in a counterclockwise direction, as will presently be explained. As best seen in Fig. '7, the course of the lower run of conveyor 73, starting from sprocket |6| is left and then forwardly back to sprocket I62, whereby sprocket I32 turns counterclockwise. The upper run of the conveyor contacts sprocket I3I and the lower run contacts sprocket I32. The belt is provided with a suitable frame I64 whereby the upper run of the belt is guided for motion rearwardly and then around the rear left corner of the pit and finally transversely of the pit. In rounding said corner the edge I65 of the belt travels in overlapping rela.

which carries it must" have two degrees offiexure.

This requirementissatisfied by the construction shown Figs. 9'andl0. The belt comprises a plurality of separatetop'sections, I'Iil, I1I= andso forth,'each havinga'c'onvex enda'nd a concave end whereby the belt is' rotatable "around diskmember I28 while its edge'is presente'dto the 'disk'meinber. Each section is rigidly secured to an outer fork member I12. These 'fork members "are formed with a mainp'orti'on I13and bifurcated portions I1 1 and I15. Pivotally secured with respect to each fork member I12 is a fork member I18, which consists of a body portion I11 and bifurcated arms I18 and 519. The pivotal attachment is attained by a bearing I89 having extended portions projecting through apertures in arms I18 and I19, one of which extensions rigidly seats in arm I14 and the other of which extensions projects through arm I15 and terminates in an enlarged head I82. It will be seen that this arrangement of forks I12, I16 provides for flexure of the belt in the horizontal direction, the gear teeth on sprockets I3I and I32 being insertable in the pockets I83 and I84.

In order to provide for vertical flexure of the belt I353, whereby it can be driven by sprocket IGI (Fig. 6), the other end of each fork member I12 is similarly pivotally secured to the other end of each fork member I13, bifurcated arms I85, I86, I81, I89, and bearing I99 being provided for that purpose. It will be seen that the teeth on sprockets I6I and I82 are insertable within pockets I92 and I93.

As shown in Fig. 2, from the collecting conveyor I8 the pins are next delivered to the conveyor 13 which deposits successive pins with their small ends upward into a delivery cup 14.

When the pins, moving along singly, on conveyor I8, reach the rear end of this conveyor they pass on to the receiving end of the conveyor 13 which extends partially around the contact disc I26 rotatably mounted on vertical shaft I33 and driven by sprocket I3I. Disk I29 is provided with an inclined surface such that when rotating in a clockwise direction, it exerts friction on the sides of the pins near the butt ends thereof to swing them about on the conveyor if they have entered the conveyor in head foremost orientation. To accomplish this in a satisfactory manner I have found that the speed of disc I28 and conveyor 13 should be somewhat greater than that of conveyor I8 in order to prevent any overlapping of the pins on conveyor 13.

That is, if the butt end is foremost while the pin is on conveyor I8, it will continue in such position on conveyor 13 and will pass around the disc I26 without being affected thereby. However, if the head end happens to be foremost while on conveyor It, the position of the pin is reversed by the action of disc I23 in conjunction with the reversing device shown in Fig. 6 which comprises curved wall I22 and curved rib I23, the latter of such height above disc I28 that the head end of the pin will project below said rib into the pocket formed by the wall I22, where it is retarded, while the butt end of the pin proceeds foremost on conveyor 13. This reverses the pin ar en andca'us'es the" butten'd to pro'ceedforernos't'jon conveyor I3. However, if for anyfr'eason arm (SeeFigA) The rollers or pressure members I24 {engage and bear downjon' thebody of the" pins being carried laterally toward the 'pi'n"cup 1d, causing each individual pin 'to be up 'en'dedf as it leaves the conveyor" and thusto' drop meme cupwith its butt end down.

The individual pins standing 'idthefcrlpfl are lifted therefrom by the hooks "'8 carried'on the conveyor-1 (Fig. 1'). This conveyor includes a vertical portion extending between the sprocket 19 and thesprockets-89and BZ; as well as a horizontal portion extending from'the sprockets 8E] and B2 to the sprocket 8|. Thus the'p'insare lifted vertically from the cup 14 to a position well above the level of the bowling alley I and are conveyed forwardly across the pit 5 and to a position above the pin setter I0 where they are individually disposed in the chutes 9.

While there has been shown and described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and substitutions of equivalents may be made therein without departing from the true scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a bowling alley operating mechanism, a pin orienting conveyor comprising a chain articulated for flexing both horizontally and vertically; said conveyor chain having an operating span extending partially around a horizontally disposed sprocket and a return span coextensive with but below the operating span and extending partially around a second horizontally disposed sprocket below the first; with return bends of chain extending around idlers at each end of the conveyor and joining the upper and lower spans of chain into an endless loop; together with an articulated belt carried by the chain and adapted to receive bowling-pins, a conical disc adjacent the operating span of the chain and mounted on the upper sprocket; said disc having its peripheral edge adjacent the conveyor chain and having an elevated central portion to engage the base of pins passing around the sprocket and swing them about on the belt, and an obstruction disposed radially outwardly from the sprocket to engage the head ends of pins passing therearound and initiate swingin movement.

2. In a bowling alley operating mechanism, a pin orienting conveyor comprising a horizontally movable belt having a laterally extending curved portion therein; with an obstruction disposed radially outwardly from the curved portion so constructed and arranged as to be engaged by the head ends of bowling-pins transported head end foremost along the conveyor, and frictional means disposed inwardly of the said curved portion to engage the side surfaces of said pins adjacent their butt ends and swing them about as the pins are carried around said curved portion; said frictional means comprising a rotatable disc having its periphery adjacent the conveyor belt at the curved portion thereof, and an elevated central portion projecting above the level of the conveyor to engage pins passing around the disc and swing them about on the belt.

3. In a bowling alley operating mechanism, a

pin orienting conveyor comprising a horizontally movable belt with coacting pin engaging devices disposed on opposite sides of said conveyor and adjacent the path of movement of the pins thereon; said devices being so constructed and arranged as to engage both the head ends and the butt ends of pins moving head end foremost along the conveyor and to swing said pins about on the conveyor belt; said devices comprising a pocket to receive and engage the head ends of said pins and a rotatable friction wheel having a portion projecting above the level of the conveyor for engaging the butt ends of the pins and swinging them about to reverse the orientation of said pins on the conveyor.

ARTHUR M. SIMPSON.

REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hollstein June 24, 1913 Hedenskoog July 11, 1916 McFarland Oct. 31, 1916 Carman Dec. 11, 1923 Burtchaell Apr. 8, 1924 Bammann Jan. 28, 1930 Williams Dec. 9, 1930 White Feb. 7, 1933 Burgess et a1, Dec. 17, 1935 Laxo June 13, 1939 Hedenskoog May 26, 1942 Flanagan May 25, 1943 Parra et al. Feb. 8, 1944 Aasted Sept. 26, 1944 Bates Nov. 13, 1945 

